COMMUTERS reeling from rocketing rail fares can take some comfort in the rising value of their home if they live within an hour of Britain’s largest cities.

The value of houses within an hour of Britain's largest cities is rising

Property prices in Swanley, Kent, less than a 40-minute train journey from London, are now just a little over 375,000, having risen around £36,500 over the past 12 months.

The rapid 10.78 per cent growth means owners would claw back the cost of their £2,500 annual rail fare within 25 days.

Dursley – a town on the outskirts of Bristol – has also seen strong growth over the past 12 months, with property prices around 9.71 per cent (£26,339) higher than last year.

Residents of the market town could pay off their annual commuting costs to Bristol within 32 days, according to property website Zoopla.

Commuter hotspots in the Midlands featured three times with property prices in Bromsgrove, which is around 30 minutes by train from Birmingham, rising by 9.61 per cent to an average of £301,384 in the year.

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For residents in Bromsgrove, it would take just 16 days to cover the cost of an annual season ticket to Birmingham.

Elsewhere, in the Midlands, house prices have risen by 8.18 per cent in the year to an average of £383,488.

It would take a commuter 19 days of house price growth to cover the cost of an annual rail ticket to Birmingham.

Commuter towns in West Yorkshire within easy reach of Leeds also fare well.

Homes in Ilkley have risen by 8.52 per cent over the past year (paid off in 14 days) and homeowners in Bingley have seen values go up by 7.91 per cent (paid off in 23 days).

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An easy commute into the office is often very near the top of the property wish list

Towns with good transport links into Birmingham have performed particularly well in 2017 due to continued demand in the region

Lawrence Hall, a spokesman for Zoopla

After Swanley and Berkhamstead, riverside Greenhithe is the next best performing location within commuting distance of pricey London, with property price growth of 7.61 per cent in the last year.

It would take a commuter 40 days to cover the cost of an annual rail ticket from Greenhithe to London.

However not all commuter towns have seen a general growth in property values over the past year.

Burton-On-Trent in Staffordshire, Walton-On-Thames in Surrey and Bushey in Hertfordshire had the weakest growth in property values in the study, with annual falls of 5.21 per cent, 4.99 per cent 4.9 per cent respectively.

Lawrence Hall, a spokesman for Zoopla, said: “An easy commute into the office is often very near the top of the property wish list for those looking to move home, and these figures show just how valuable it can be to live within easy reach of a city centre.

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